LIBRARY^ CONGRESS. 

Shelf .^Q''V% 

UNITED STATES OF AMEKIOA. 



I 



I, 



IN MEMORIAM. 



MEMORIAL SERVICES, 



ON THE 

V 



DAY OF THE BURIAL OF 

V 

President James A. Garfield. 



BY THE 



CITIZENS OF GREAT FALLS, N. H. 



SEPTEMBER 26, 1881. 



GREAT FALLS, N. H., . 

PUBLISHED BY E. O. LORD' & CO., 
1881. 



IN MEMORIAM 



MEMORIAL SERVICES, 



ON THE 



DAY OF THE BURIAL OF 



President James A. Garfield, 



BY THE 



CITIZENS OF GREAT FALLS, N. H. 
II 



SEPTEMBER 26, 1881. 




GREAT FALLS, N. H., 

PUBIISHED I'.V E. O. LORD & CO. 
1881. 






This Painphk't ot Procecdiiiii-.s at a meeting of citizens 
of Great Falls, is puhlishcd under the immediate super- 
vision of the President and Secretary of the nieetinu". 



United States of America. 



A Proclamation by the President: 

Whereas, In his inscrutable wisdom it has pleased 
God to remove from us the iUustrious head of the nation, 
James A. Gartield, kite President of the United Siates ; 
and whereas it is titting that the deep grief which tills all 
hearts should manifest itself with one accord toward the 
throne of infinite grace, and that we should how before 
the Almighty and seek from Him that consolation in our 
atiliction and that sanctification of our loss which He is 
able and willing to vouchsafe ; now, therefore, in obedi- 
ence to sacred duty, and in accordance with the desire of 
the people, I, Chester A. Arthur, President of the United 
States of America, do hereby appoint Monday next, the 
twenty-sixth day of September, — on which day the 
remains of our honored and beloved dead will be con- 
signed to their last resting-place on earth, — to l)e ol)served 
thi-oughout the United States as a day of humiliation -and 
mourning, and I earnestly recommend all the j^eople to 
assemble on that day in their respective places of divine 
worship, thereto render alike their tribute of sorrowful 
submission to the will of Almighty God, and of rever- 
ence and love for the memory and character of our Chief 
Magistrate. 

In witness whereof I hereunto set mv hand and caused 
the seal of the United States to be affixed. 

Done at the city of Washington, the 2 2d of September, 
in the year of our Lord 1881, and of the independence 
of the United States the one hundred and sixth. 

Chester A. Arthtr. 



Statk of New Hami'shiur. 



By Charles H. Bell, Governor: 

A PROCLAMATION. 

I i-et'oniniend that the day on which the mortul remains 
of the late President of the Ignited States are to be eom- 
mitted to the tond), namely, Monday, the 26th day of 
Sei)teml)er instant, he observed l)y the people of New 
Hampshire as a special day of moiirnino- for the death of 
our honored and lamented Chief Magistrate ; and that 
suitable religious and mcnnorial services l)e held on that 
day in the several cities and towns throughout this State. 

Given at the Executive Chamber, in Concord, this twen- 
tv-secoud day of Septembei-, a. d. 1<S,S1. 

Charles H. Hell. 

By the Govcn-n.or : 

A. B. Tno^ii'soN, Sccretarv of State. 



PROCEEDINGS, 



In accordance with the recommendations of tlie foregoing 
proclamations, several citizens met informally' and issued the 
following call for a meeting of the citizens of Great Falls : 

The citizens of this vicinity are requested to meet at the 
Town Hall, at 7 1-2 o'clock, p. M , on Saturday, September 24, 
to consider what action shall be taken to appropriately observe 
the day set apart for the funeral obsequies of our beloved Chief 
Magistrate. 

Agreeably to this call a large number of citizens assembled 
at the Town Hall Saturday evening, September 24, 1381, at 
seven and one half o'clock. 

William D. Kuapp, Esq., called the citizens to order, and 
explained the object of the meeting in a few well-chosen words. 

On motion of George E. Beacham, Esq., Joseph A. Stickney, 
Esq., was chosen President. 

On motion of Emery J. Randall, Esq., George E. Beacham, 
Es(|., was chosen Secretary. 

A discussion ensued which was participated in by Emerj^ J. 
Randall, Esq., Rev. Darius H. Stoddard, and others, after which 
it was 

Voted, That a committee of seven persons be appointed by 
the President to consult and report a general plan for the prop- 
er observance of the day. 



6 

Whereupon the President appointed the following named gen- 
tlemen as such committee : William D. Knapp, Esq., Rev. 
Darius H, Stoddard, Rev. George C. Noyes. Rufus W. Nason, 
Esq., John W. Bates, Esq., Edwin P. Hurd, Esq., and Emery 
J. Randall, Esq. 

Whereupon the i^oramittee I'etired for consultation, and in due 
time made the following recommendations : 

1. That a united religious service be held at the Congrega- 
tional church at ten o'clock in the forenoon, and that Rev. P. S. 
Hurlburt be invited to deliver the sermon, to which all citizens 
be invited. 

2. That a meeting of all the citizens, at two o'clock in the 
afternoon, be held in the grove if the weather should prove suit- 
able, and if not, such meeting be held in the Town Hall. 

3. That William D. Knapp, Esq , Rufus W. Nason, Esq., 
and Rev. Darius H. Stoddard, be requested to prepare appropri- 
ate resolutions for presentation and consideration at the meeting 
of citizens. 

4. That the bells be tolled from 6 to G.30, a. m.. and from 
noon to 12.30, P. M., and be rung in the usual manner for the 
two services. 

5. That committees be appointed by the President as fol- 
lows : a committee to supervise the tolling of bells, a committee 
on music, and a committee to have general executive charge at 
the meeting of citizens. 

Unayiimoualy voted, That the report be accepted and the rec- 
ommendations adopted. 

Whereupon the President appointed committees as follows : 

On the tolling of bells — John A. Fall, Granville Grant and 
Thomas D. Merrick. 



On mime — John S. Haines, William S. Pierce and Daniel 
Hodsdon. 

On executive management — William D. Knapp, George E. 
Beacham and Rev. George C. Noyes. 

Mr. Knapp desiring to be excused from serving on the last 
named committee, upon his motion, Joseph A. Stickney was 
chosen in his stead. 

On motion of Capt. Clarence L. Chapman it was voted that 
the committee on music have charge at the union services and 
at the citizens' meeting. 

On motion of William D. Knapp, Esq., it was voted that 
when the meeting adjourn it adjourn to meet at the grove or 
at the Town Hall at two o'clock p. m., on Monday, September 
26. 

On motion of Capt. Clarence L. Chapman, voted to adjourn. 

GEORGE E. BEACHAM, Secretary. 



MONDAY. SEPTEMBER 26. 



This day was obsei'ved as recommended by tlie President of' 
the United States and tlie Governor of this State. The manu- 
factories and all places of business were closed ; the bells were 
tolled in the morning and at iioon, and religious services were 
held at ten o'clock in the forenoon. 

AT THE GROVE. 

A large concourse of citizens assembled at two o'clock in the 
afternoon, Joseph A. Stickney acting as president, and George 
E. Beacham as secretary. The proceedings, were as follows : 

The meeting being called to order, the national h3'mn "Amer- 
ica" w^as sung b}' the united choirs of the town, many of the 
large audience joining in the .'dinging. 

The Pkesident. Friends, neighbors. When fortune smiles 
upon us, when health and strength adorn our brows, when the 
world applauds and popularity in rainbow hues floats above us, 
how apt are we to forget God, and say, "See what we have 
done." But when fortune frowns, when sickness comes in at the 
window and health flies out at the door, when the world j:»asses 
bv neglectfully, forgetfully, when poverty dogs our footsteps, 
when sorrow and calamity stare us in the face, then, how ready 
we are to turn to the Great Creator of the Universe, in whose 
image we are made. In this hour of our sorrow an<l calamity, 
let us all, from the very dei)ths of our licarts, unite with the 
Rev. Mr. Stoddard in jjrayer. 

The Rev. Darius H. Stoddard offered an appropriate prayer. 

The President. Fellow Citizens. It falls to the lot of but 
very few men to stand the test of a nation's st-rutiny. But very 
few men are offered an amount of power sufficient to attract a 
nation's notice ; and to whomsoever a nation's eyes are turned, 
to him great responsibilities are given. And so it happened 



9 

that when a portion of tlie people proposed to entrust the great 
powers and responsibilities of the Presidency to James A. Gar- 
field, the eyes of fifty millions of people were turned upon hini, 
and they demanded to know his very inner life. Who is James 
A. Garfield ? What are his surroundings ? What has been 
the instruction of his youth ? What are the underlying princi- 
ples which govern and control his action ? What are the im- 
pulses of his heart ? Tell us of his family and what they think 
of him I Tell us of his neighbors and what they think of him ! 
Is he a patriot ? Is he a scholar ? Does he love his country ? 
O I political friend, cease your fulsome praises and tell of t]ie man I 
O I political foe, cease 3'our harsh criticism and. tell us of the 
man — just as he is I Can we trust him ? Is he worthy of our 
confidence ? Will he abuse the great power we put in his 
hands ? Tell us, 0, tell us, all that the man is I 

Such, my fellow citizens, were the questions the people asked 
only last autumn. It seems but yesterday since that mighty 
contest. How clearly comes to mind the glare of the torch, the 
roll of the drum, the huzza of the multitude. It seems but yes- 
terday since the many-tongued press announced the result and 
we heard the shout of victory. How like the subsidence of a 
summer wave was the settling of the people to the avocations of 
peace, giving hearty acquiesence to the decision. 

Then came the inaugeration with its splendid and imposing 
ceremonies, and the country was at peace. The people believing 
their confidence well deserved, were contented and happy in the 
prosperity of the land. 

But, hark ! a shot ! a shot that startled the world ! How 
vivid in our minds is the startled cry of the falling President, 
and the hoarse shout of the cowardly assassin I I need only re- 
fer to the weary weeks of waiting and watching, the weary 
weeks of patient suffering — all ending this day in the giving of 
''dust to dust."' 

Fellow Citizens, I am glad to announce that I am priviledged 
to call upon some of our citizens who will answer some of the 
questions the people asked last year, and it will not become me 
to anticipate the answers they will give. I now invite you to 
hear something of Ex-President Garfield as a friend of the great 
manufacturing interests, from Hon. David H. Buffum. 



10 

Mk. Buffum. Mr. President and Fellow Citizens : Modes- 
ty would have prevented ni}' voluntarily trespassing upon your 
indulgence at this time of our great grief, had I not con- 
sented to do so at the solicitation of your committee, charged 
with the duty of recommending a course of a(;tiou by which we 
could best pay our last tribute of respect to our lamented Presi- 
dent. They have invited me to speak briefly of his policy and its 
effect upon the Manufacturing Interest.*? of the Country. The 
time allotted me is five minutes, which is certainly short for an 
exhaustive effort, but it will be ample for my purpose. 

It is difficult to discuss the influence of any individual on 
one particular interest only, without trenching upon kindred 
interests, and particularly so of General Garfield, for he was no- 
tably a friend to all — always ready and willing to foster and aid 
any interest that his judgement commended. 1 think we 
have had no man in Congress since his entrance that better un- 
derstood the varied manufacturing interests of the country than 
he. He fully comprehended that their success depended large- 
ly on stability, a sound currency, infrequent changes of policy, 
and a tariff" not for revenue only, but one so adjusted that while 
it gave support to the government, it should afford incidental 
protection against undue competition from abroad, and employ- 
ment to a very large class of citizens, thus making them our 
customers for a large portion of our product. 

That our present tariff, which is of long standing, could be 
modified and bettered, he with many others believed, and had 
he lived, I fully believe that he would have shaped an intelli- 
gent commission, from whose labors the manufacturing interests 
as well as many others would have been benefited ; at least not 
seriously injured, as they surely would have been had the bill 
been passed two years ago known as the Wood Tariff Bill, 
which he while in Congress so strongly opposed. 

It may not be amiss to mention that it was my fortune to be 
a member of the Chicago Convention, that lu^minated Gen. Gar- 
field to the Presidency, and I then met him to know him for the 
first time ; and I can truly say that during that long and protract- 
ed session, his whole bearing inspired me with confidence in 
him as a man. and his whole life since has confirmed my con- 
victions, and strengthened my belief, that the nation's loss in the 
death of our honored and beloved President, cannot be measured 
nor could its loss be increased by the substitution of any other 
one man. 



11 

In conclusion let nie repeat those memorable and true words 
spoken by him on a former melancholy occasion : ''God 
reigns and the Government still lives." 

Yes, the government still lives, and at its head we have Ches- 
ter A. Arthur, constitutionally cliosen President. While it is 
not my purpose to speak of him, permit me to bespeak for him 
a suspension of any and all unfriendly criticisms Accord to him 
a fair trial, and if he is found worthy, which we sincerely hope, let 
us give him our full confidence and support, for no man in this 
or any other country ever had a better opportunity to give us a 
good administration, and to distinquish himself by simply following 
in the steps of him whose untimely death we all so much lament. 

The President. Fellow Citizens: I now invite you 
to hear something of Ex-President Garfield as a friend of Law 
and Order, from Rufus W. Nason, Esq. 

Mr. Nason. Mr. President : It is indeed no ordinary loss 
which can close the shops, stop the wheels and draw from their 
usual employment so large a portion of the men and women of 
our busy, but conservative old town. At this moment, the 
thoughts of all the inhabitants of our broad land are turned 
sadly in one direction. 

In all the long ages of the world's history, there never has 
been a time when the hearts and minds of so large a number of 
people have been simultaneously directed to the contemplation 
of a single event, in one moniemt united with a common bond 
of sympathy. Other eminent men have died, but not the death 
of Moses nor the death of Caesar, nor of Napolean, nor of 
Washington, dearly beloved, reverenced though he was by all 
Americans, was brought so closely home to so many waiting 
hearts. Then populations were sparse, communication was slow. 

When Lincoln died, there were factions, bitter feelings, and 
the public sensibility was hardened by the shock of revolution. 
Now, all is peace and prosperity, and all men, all creeds, colors, 
nationalities and parties join heart and soul in lamenting the 
death of the Chief Magistrate of our Union. And why is it 
that we mourn so deeply and so universally the death of Gener- 
al Garfield ? Is it on account of his eminent statesmanship 
and. his distinguished course of public services, and that of 



12 

these we are now depi'iveil ".' No; for liundreds of his peers 
have passed away without so inucli as sending, a thrill througli 
the land. It is, it seems to me, because for eighty days, by our 
wonderful system of lightning communication, we had lived in 
the very presence of the sufferer, within sound of his calm and 
Christian utterances, witnesses of his manly fortitude even until 
he passed down into the valley of the shadow of death. 

The President is dead, and it becomes us to speak his praises, 
to find his virtues and hold them up to the admiration and emu- 
lation of mankind, and to cover with the mantle of charity 
whatever shortcomings he may have had in common with you 
and me and every man who ever trod the earth, except one 
man who mingled with his perfect humanity, the essence of 
divinity. There is an expression so often repeated that it has 
become almost trite and me.aningless: we say, "This is a (gov- 
ernment of principles and not of men. ' It is a sentiment 
which the life and death of General Garfield ought to revivify 
and bring home to the understanding of every man, woman and 
child in our republic. To exemplif}' this idea, Gen. Garfield 
was peculiarly fitted by his education, by his profession, by his 
experience as a commander of troops, by his long training in the 
halls of legislation, by his belief and practice and even by his 
death ; and wherever we find him, whether in his place in Con- 
gress, or in the public street stilling the passions of a mob, he 
is alwa3's fighting on the side of Law and Order, for a govern- 
ment of principles and not of men. In all his acts he showed 
that he recognized with awe and admiration, the majesty and 
supremacy of law and its necessity as the foundation of our in- 
stitutions. It is the common respect for law and order which 
alone makes our republic possible ; and alone makes possible a 
c;areer like Garfield's. It is the exceptional lack of that respect, 
it is the violation ©f law which has brought 'iartield to his grave. 
It is that same respect for law and order which to-day keeps the 
wretched assassin safe from the hands of an angry people, not 
to thwart but to satisfy the demands of justice through that pro- 
cess of law which our constitution pledges to every man before 
he shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property. That common 
respect for Law and Order is to-day the crowning glory of the 
American people, and it is that which the American people shall 
leave as its most precious legacy to after generations. 



13 

The President. FpHow Citizens. You are now invited 
to hear something of Ex-President Garfield as a friend of the 
Mercantile Interests, from George Moore, Esq. 

Mr. Moore, Mr. President : Leaving our customary avo- 
cations, and prompted by the feelings of a common humanity, 
we have met together to pay our last tribute of respect to our 
late illustrious Chief Magistrate. 

Called to preside over the varied interests of the nation, in 
the full vigor of life and prime of manhood, and at a time when 
all its business relations were in a prosperous condition, and the 
passions excited by a period of uncertainty subsiding, and giving 
place to a feeling of relief that the contest was over and a chief 
magistrate elected by the votes of the people, he became not 
alone the president of a party, but the representative of our 
whole countr3% and honoring the office, all men, without distinc- 
tion of party, did not hesitate to call him our President. 

In his public career as a member of Congress, being the ad- 
vocate of sound sense on all the great questions of finance, cur- 
rency and the adjustment of the public debt, he was honored by 
the confidence of the conservative men of the country, and the 
feeling that his administration of affairs relating to all the mate- 
rial business interests of the country would be worked by sound 
judgement and discretion, and that no disturbance of values 
would take place other than from natural causes, and the great 
volume of business so closely connected with the material pros- 
perity of the union would move on with increased confidence in 
its stability. So far the promise has proved all that was expect- 
ed. Labor is well employed, trades and manufactures are pros- 
pering, and even our small community feels the influence of sta- 
ble and sound legislation. 

Perhaps in no other country and under no other form of gov- 
ernment in the world, could an act like that which removed the 
Chief Magistrate of the land have taken place with so little dis- 
turbance to its business. The framers of our system of govern- 
ment laid its foundations broad and deep, basing them upon the 
intelligence, patriotism and virtue of the people, and while 
these are maintained and made the rule of our action there can 
be no lasting disturbance of its institutions. The commotions 
of civil war have shaken it. The hand of the assassin has strick- 
en down its ruler, but " God reigns and the government at 
Washington still lives," as we hope and trust, to bless future 
generations. 



14 

Tlie life of President Garfield adds another example to the 
possibilities attainable under our form of government. Born in 
humble circumstances ; under conditions not more favorable than 
fall to the lot of most men, he rose to the first office in the gift 
of the people, and it is for us to-daj^ to merely record the story 
of his life as an example to all, and to profit by the lesson which 
that life may teach — the lesson which flows from a life begun 
in poverty, continued with ^perseverance and ajiplication, born of 
noble ambition, and ending in the midst of a work well per- 
formed, until called from life by the hand of violence. 

All that was mortal of our late President will this day be laid 
in the bosom of the earth from whence it came, and there will be 
in the grief no North, no South, no East, no West, but one 
common country ; and the whole people will bear tribute to his 
worth and bless the institutions which made such a career pos- 
sible. 

And now, when in yonder distant western citj', amidst the 
assembled thousands who will gather there to do honor to his 
remains and to pay to them the last kind offices of friendship 
and respect, let us not forget that we have with them a common 
interest in all that honor and respect. Let us also remember 
the aged mother, the widowed wife, and fatherless children in 
this hour of affiiction. Let us mourn with them and commend 
them to the mercies of their God "out of whom are all the 
issues of life, and who holdeth the nation in the hollow of his 
hand." 

The favorite hymn of Ex-President Garfied, "Asleep in Jesus," 
was then sung by the united chorus, many of the large assembly 
joining in the singing. 

The President. Fellow Citizens : I now invite you to 
hear something of Ex-President Garfield as a Friend of Educa- 
tion, from Professor J. W. V. Rich, of the High School. 

Mr. Rich. Mr. President : At the age of twenty-one James 
A. Garfield commenced his career as a teacher in one of Ohio's 
common schools. From twenty-two to twenty-six he was in col- 
lege, and till twenty-nine, when he was elected to the Ohio 
Senate, he was tutor and president of Hiram college As a 
teacher he was eminently successful, bringing to his aid three 
great qualifications ; a good moral character, a profound knowl- 
edge of human nature, and a deep love for his pupils. 



15 

Witli the first, refined and beautiful by the spirit of Jesus 
Christ, he felt the importance of his work. To his care were 
intrusted youth, whose immortal minds and hearts could be 
shaped for a destiny- of weal or woe. It lay in his power to di- 
rect the cliannels of thought, and stamp the character by an 
impress of the Divine (tharacter as revealed through Christ. For 
him was the possibility of awakening the slumbering energies 
of a soul, and firing it with a purpose to rise in the scale of be- 
ing and approximate the likeness of God. He felt that as clay 
in the hands of the potter, he might be instrumental in shaping 
a destiny to the highest and holiest conception of its model. A 
soul fired b}^ such lofty conceptions of labor, no wonder he left 
a monument of his labor in the educational field. 

With his profound knowledge of human nature he readily 
foresaw the thousand avenues by which pupils might be reached 
and led in a right course. In one he saw the qualifications of 
the business man ; in another, the tastes of a physician ; in an- 
other, the clear judgement and analytical mind of a lawyer; in 
another, the talents which, by the aid of the spirit influence, 
led men to the ideal of holy living. In the young woman, he saw 
her probable station so high that from her sphere would radiate 
influences breathing blessings and benedictions to mankind. 
In her power rested the possibility of so shaping and controlling 
posterity, that our institutions would rest on an immovable foun- 
dation. So he labored, bringing all to their proper sphere accord- 
ing to the talents bestowed by the Creator. 

His strong love for his pupils, as he saw their possibilities and 
comprehended their destinies led him to work incessantly for 
their advancement. No wonder he loved them as he saw the 
varying capacities of mind and soul, and felt that in the future 
the young men and women under his charge would be the edu- 
cated men and women on whom in part would depend the perpe- 
tuity of our form of government ! 

He loved, as he expressed it, '' to go among farmer.s, the shops 
and the factories, to catch young men to ediicate them to be the 
future citizens of a strong republic." Ah ! deep was his love, 
for, in associating himself with the Great Teacher, he learned 
that the unfolding of the mind and the developing of the soul 
were for eternity ! 

In his methods of discipline he relied upon the sense of honor 
in his pupils, which properly developed rendered them self-dis- 



1() 

ciplining, self-reliant and self-made, ready for the emergencies 
of life. His thought was that all of value in education is found 
in developing all good tendencies and checking all the evil, 
which, though directed by the teacher, must be wrought out by 
the pupil. He was thoroughly alive to the fact that the great 
foe of our cherished institutions is the ignorance of the masses 
Accordingly, in his inaugural address, he called special atten- 
tion to the educational needs of the Soutli. He saw that the 
elevation of the people, the establishment of law and order, and 
the purit}^ of the ballot-box depended upon the more general 
diffusion of knowledge. I doubt not he also saw in a territory 
of the United States, ten thousand children under the age of 
twelve, growing up in ignorance to jjropagate the foul cancer 
of Mormanism which is so firmly establislied in Utah, and 
is spreading its deadly fangs to other states and territories. 

Oh, that Garfield had lived to inaugurate a grand crusade 
against the tide of ignorance that seems to threaten the life of 
our country; but God knew best and we bow before the inscru- 
table decree of His providence. 

I hope, fellow citizens, we may all see the importance of edu- 
cating the masses so that all nationalities, without distinction of 
sex or color, from the rock-bound coasts of New England to the 
peaceful Pacific washing the golden sands of the far west, from 
the gulf on the south to the Great Lakes on the north, may en- 
joy to the fullest extent all the blessings of home, liberty and 
prosperity. Yea, that even from our midst may spring up such 
an educational sentiment that other towns and states may catch 
the spirit and unite in one mighty effort to roll back the tide of 
ignorance now upon us. 

I trust that amid our sorrow and grief and tears may come 
light from the throne to direct us in all our ways. 

The President. Fellow Citizens : I now invite you to 
hear something of Ex-President Garfield as a Friend of Religion, 
from Rev. S. F. Wetherbee, of Berwick. 

Mr. Wethekbee. Mr. President : Scanning the lives of great 
men we seldom find perfection ; few if any are great in everything. 
A man may he a military hero, and his fame be world-wide, yet 
in moral tonfiict and self-coiKjuest he may he weak and vacilla- 
ting. A man may be a shrewd politician, skillful in combining 
views and parties, and managing them; yet for broad states 



17 

maiisliip he ma}' be destitute of the first qualification. Pucli 
men are figuring in every political party. A man maj' be a 
fier\' reformer, but in his zeal he may bo very unscrupulous as to 
methods. There have been very zealous churchmen, like Loj'ola 
or Xavier, who would compass sea and land to make converts, and 
yet, outside their own communion they would persecute to death. 

A man may live a very consistent Christian life at home, yet _ 
place him amid the temptutions and corruptions of public life 
anil office, andyou often find that his religion is no longer a con- 
trolling power. Weighed in the l)alance, almost everj^ man how- 
ever exalted in some respects, is found wanting in others. 

Ht'nce, the character of him we honor to-da}-, is sublimely 
conspicuous, because evtry shining virtue and every excellence 
is the legitimate result of Christian culture and principle. 
While a military hero, he was equally successful in moral and 
self-conquest. While a statesman, he scorned the low arts of the 
demagogue and the ring politician. As a reformer and Christian 
worker his zeal never led him to disregard the rights and privi- 
leges of others. The humble Christian life and deportment that 
m irked him at home,followed him in public life everywhere. From 
the smoke of the battlefield, and from the corrupt influences of a 
life in Washington, he would return to his home, enter the hum- 
ble church he loved so well, and his services were ever listened 
to with delight, for those who knew him best loved him most. 

While then we acknowledge his beautiful, symetrical charac- 
ter, so eminently' fitting him for his high responsibilities, we 
place highest of all, as his crowning grace, his exalted Chris- 
tian character. He was not a nominal professor, but a devout 
man of faith and praj^er. His life, public and private, was al- 
ways under control of his religion, founded on the Bible, as the 
revealed will and word of God. This was the more conspicuous 
because, w-ith the possible exception of Washington, he was the 
only openly confessed and active Christian that has ever been 
elected President of the United States. His Bible religion, 
while guiding his deportment in public and private life, the, 
amenit)^ and courtesy he so gracefully exhibited, led him to re- 
gard with holy horror the falsehood and corruption he saw in the 
civil service, in the military and naval departments, and to set 
himself about plans of reform. His religion led him to see the 
wrongs and abuses of the red man and mature plans for their re- 
lief. He Saw the foul ulcer oi Mormonism and determined to ex- 
terpate it. 



18 

President Garfield's Christian life is best expressed by the 
great Apostle: "It was a life hid with Christ in God." His 
''Christ life, "which was the most conspit uous of all liis character- 
istics, gave fulness and perfection to them all, out-shone them 
all ! In whatever he was great by nature or by culture, he was 
greater because of his Christian purit}^ and his faith in Cod. 
In the closing weeks and lioui's of hi^ beautiful, symetrical life, 
what interests of home, family and country bind him to life. 
Yet there was no timid shrinking ; no weakness of holy trust, 
no clinging to earth. Joyful in hope he passed away. May his 
mantle, like that of Elijah, fall on his successor in office. 

"Servant of God ! Well done, 

Thy glorious warfare's past, 

The battle's fought ! The victory won, 

And thou art crowned at last." 

The President. Fellow Citizens: I now invite you to 
hear something of Ex-President Garfield, as a friend of Labor 
and the Laborer, from Emery J. Randall, Esq. 

Mr. Randall. Mr. President : In the few moments allotted 
to me, I am at a loss what to say that shall in any adequate meas- 
ure express the deep feeling of sorrow and bereavement, which, in 
common with yourselves, fills my heart. At this moment, weeping 
millions of our countrymen like ourselves, are paying their homage 
to the memory of our beloved and illustrious dead. Grief, deep 
and heartfelt is common to all classes and conditions in life, from 
the highest to the humblest citizen ; strong men, women and 
children, of ali nationalities, without distinction of creed, sect or 
party, alike feel that they have lost a personal friend and sus- 
tain a personal bereavement ; while those in the highest places 
of authority in this and all the other civilized countries of the 
world have hastened to express their sorrow and pay their trib- 
ute of respect to the memory of the late Chief Magistrate, there 
is no class of people who have shown a deeper concern and af- 
fliction than the common, toiling people of our country. And 
why is it that a man, whom but a few thousands of the fifty mill- 
ions have e\erseen, and who has been but a few short months 
the ruler the nation, should have taken such a mighty hold 
upon the hearts of men, and made the whole world his kin ? 

It is true our country has greviously felt the terrible convul- 
sions of party strife and rancor, and the timid have felt a deep 
solicitude for the perpetuity of our institutions ; and this man 
has been a tower of strength to the nation by his conservatism 



Id 

born Tiot of timidity hut of the liighest patriotism, and his over- 
whelming sense of justice. It is true, he stands with a perfect 
record as a soldier and defender of his country in the war for 
the Union and in iier most direful need achieving the highest 
renown for courage and bravei'y on the battlefields of our coun- 
try, it is true, he has distinguished himself as a statesman of 
the highest order in the counsels of the nation for a long series 
of years, and shown himself a President, not of a section, or par- 
ty, but of the whole people and a great nation ; yet, I appre- 
hen'd that it is not for all this that he is most revered, or for 
which his memory will be must dearly cherished by the plain 
people of this country, but rather for l<is sterling integrity and 
honest^', and his absolute goodness of heart, as exemplified in 
his public, and especially his private life. 

Springing from the humblest condition in life, with a grind- 
ing poverty incessantly pressing upon him in all his early years, 
without influential friends to assist him on, but with willing 
hands and a brave and good heart he made his own way, step by 
step, to the first place in the gift of the people. In all the 
wearj^, hardfought battles to reach the proud position he at- 
tained, he carried a personal integrity that never for a moment 
was subject to suspicion He w^alked the doubtful ways of 
opportunity and temptation with unsoiled feet, and moved amid 
political and social scandal without a stain upon his garments. 
Passing through an epoch of unexampled venality in the his- 
tory of our country, during the greater part of his legislative 
experience, with poverty a constant companion, and undoubted- 
ly beset with temptations such as might have caused weaker 
men to fall, he was always tiue to himself and faithful to every 
public and private trust. 

To-day, Fellow Citizens, notwithstanding all this splendid rec- 
ord, do you not regard this man as the faithful .son, the devoted 
husband, and loving /a//ier; rather than as the accomplished 
scholar, the finished orator, and eminent statesman ? Who 
among us can fotget tliis son ? When this di.-tinguished man 
was installed in the high office to which he had been elected, the 
first person he recognized was his aged mother bowed down with 
the weight of four score years, he kissed her happy face, and em- 
braced her with the utmost filial affection. Upon the bed of 
death the first letter he wrote was to this aged mother, full of 
the tenderest messages to lighten her grief and inspire her with 
courage. 



20 

Who can forget the devoted husband? When stricken down 
bj^ the bloody hand of a cowardly assassin, the first words spoken 
were of solicitude for his faithful wife, fearing that the terrible 
news might completely overcome her. 

Who can forget liim as a father '.' When the two little sons, 
excluded from the father's bedside, crept noiselessly from their 
chamber at midnight, and sliaring a single pillow, lay down 
upon the cold floor before his door so they could be as close as 
possible to their dear papa Who will forget the physical and 
moral courage of this heroic man, lying mortally wounded and 
bleeding for weeks, without one word of impatience or com- 
plaint, but even with a god-like resignation which could only 
come from an unsullied conscience and Christian manhood. Is 
it strange the people loved such a man ? 

Not an impulse of this great man's heart that was not gener- 
ous, kind and helpful. Born in obscurity, and to unremitting 
toil, who better than he could know the wants of the busy work- 
ers in this great land ? During all these weary weeks, he has 
constantly spoken of the sympathy of this noble-hearted people, 
and to-day, with tear-dimmed eyes, the millions of liardy toilers 
have turned sorrowfully away from the busy pursuits of life, to 
pay their last tribue of respect to then failhfal friend. For all 
a great light has gone out of the world, but streaming behind is 
an effulgence of exalted character, which no grave however deep 
can hide, or night however dark can dim. His public and pri- 
vate virtues will be cherished and emulated in all time to come, 
and will shed their benign influence upon the political moral, 
and domestic life of the nation. History undoubtedly will place 
the name of Garfield among the first in the list of martyrs for 
Republican institutions, and accord him a place with the fore- 
most statesmen of his age. But there will be a lustre to his 
name born of the purity of his private life, which will grow 
brighter as time goes on ; and his memory for these will be per- 
petually enshrined in the hearts of the people. He was more 
than soldier, scholar, orator, or statesman — he was a good and 
perfect man. 

The people, whom he so much loved, and who esteem him with 
a sentiment almost akin to worship, pay their last public tribute 
to-day, to all that is mortal of this great and good man ; but 
the halo surrounding his name will be like the "Celestial fire" of 
old, lighting his countrymen to nobler aspirations, purer lives, 
and a more exalted citizenship. 



21 

"^'Pearce ! Let the sad procession go, 
While cannon boom, and bells toll slow; 
And so, thou sacred car, 
BeaTiwg our vroe afar. 

■Go, darkly borne, from State to State, 
Whose loyal, sorrowius cities wait 
To honor, all they can, 
The dust of that good man! 

Go, grandly borne, with such a train, 
As greatest Kings might die to gain: 
The just, the wise, the brave. 
Attend thee to the grave. 

And you, the soldiers of our wars, , 
Bronzed veterans, grim with noble scars. 
Salute him once again, 
Tour late commander, Slain'. 

Yes, let your tears indignant fall, 
But leave your muskets on the wall , 
Your country needs you now 
Beside the forge, the plough ! 

So sweetly, sadly, sternly goes 
The fallen to his last repose — 
Beneath no might3' dome 
But to his modest home. 

The churchyard, where his children rest, 
The quiet spot that suits him best, 
There shall his grave be made, 
And there shall his bones be laid ! 

And there his countrymen shall come, 
With memory proud, and pity dumb. 
And strangers, fai- and dear, 
For many and many a year! 

For many a year, and many an age, 
While history on her ample page, 
The virtues shall enroll 
Of that paternal soul. — " 

An appropriate hymn was sung bj the united choirs, under 
the leadership of Professor W. W. Mclntire. 

The President. Eellow Citizens : You are novr invited 
to listen to the report of the committee appointed at the meet- 
ing on Saturday, to prepare resolutions for our consideration, 
.which will now be introduced by William D. Knapp, Esq., for 
the committee. 



'22 

Mr. Knapp. Mr. President : It is no ordinary grief that 
saddens us to-day. It may not have that violence that over- 
comes when death enters our own family circle, but is more, far 
more than the sympathetic sadness we feel when we see 
a funeral procession following the remains of one whom we knew 
not; it is deeper than the sorrow that subdues our hearts when a 
fellow citizen whom we have known and respected is brought to 
his end by the hand of disease or of natural decay. We mourn 
to-day the end, the untimely end of the life of the head 
of this great nation, who worthily and honorably occupied the 
most exalted position in the world, who died more widely known 
and honored and loved than any other man of this or of any age. 
The thoughts of the unnatural crime, the terrible tragedy which 
brought this man from perfect health, from the activity and use- 
fulness of all his well trained and vigorous powers of body, 
mind and heart, from that high position, the pinnacle of human 
greatness, down to death, down to the grave, adds to our grief. 
The fact that the assassin was a man, our brother, adds its op- 
pressive weight to our sorrow. And then cur long and anxious 
w^atch by the side of that suffering, patient. Christian hero, from 
the hour when the fatal bullet laid him helpless upon his bed, 
until the announcement was made, "President Gartield is dead," 
through those eighty days, each day adding a new and stronger 
cord of sympathy and love to the ties which bound him to us, 
has attached us so strongly to that great heart that his death 
seems a personal bereavement. It is a personal bereavement. 
Our friend, our nation's friend, a friend of humanity, is to-day 
laid to rest. He has gone out of our sight. His great soul has 
passed beyond the veil where no hand of mortal can even grasp 
his hand. He cannot come back to us, and until we shall go 
where he has gone, he can do no more for us and we can do no 
more for him. 

But we mourn not without hope. Hope for him because we 
believe he was a friend of God. Hope for ourselves because we 
believe God reigns We may even rejoice because of the rich 
treasures of his heart and life that this dead man has left be- 
hind him, and if the American people will properly appreciate, pre- 
serve and appropriate all the glorious memories and all the good 
influences contained in his precious legacy to us, no monu- 
ment of bronze or marble will out-last the good results of his 
life. His work henceforth is in another world His hopes and 
anticipations are all ended in knowledge. Our work is still in 



23 

this \vorl<l, and while we continue to work, we will continue to 
hope that the nation, which he loved and for which he died, will 
receive no detriment through his death, but rather an impulse 
toward a higher and purer national life. And so Mr. President, 
believing that while cast down by a great sorrow, we may be sus- 
tained by a great hope, in behalf of your committee, 1 re- 
spectfully submit these resolutions : — 

Resolved, That we, the citizens of Somersworth, in common 
with all citizens of these United States, are oppressed with pro- 
found sorrow, by the untimely death of our most highly respect- 
ed and illustrious President, James A. Garfield. 

Resolved, That we recognize with grateful feeling the per- 
fection of a system of government, which permitted a boy of 
humble birth to attain the highest culture, and to rise by his pa- 
tient labor, faithfulness to duty, true patriotism, honest regard 
for the public welfare, bravery in the field and wisdom in the 
forum, by his great love for men, and his great reverence for 
God, to the highest position of trust, to the summit of human 
greatness. And we do earnestly condemn and deprecate every 
law, custom, act, word, or thought, which gave the slightest im- 
pulse to the terrible tragedy, that brought him down to death. 

Resolved, That we cherish in our hearts the memory of his 
great and good deeds, while especially precious will be the 
thoughts of his patience, fortitude, tenderness, submission, man- 
ly words and sublime Christian faith and trust, in the days of his 
sufferings, during the marvelous struggle for life, and our desire, 
shall be to profit by the example of his noble, virtuous. Christian 
character. 

Resolved, That we will remember with the most sincere sym- 
pathy, the children of the late President, so sadly deprived .-f 
his instruction and care, the brave and faithful wife, the exhibi- 
tion of whose devoted affection, heroic fortitude and wonderful 
self-control, has given her the right to the honor, if not to the 
crown of Queen, and the worthy mother of such a son, who, on 
the eve of her eightieth birth-day, hearing that her son was 
dead, in the anguish of desolation, exclaimed, "If he is dead, 
what shall I do ? The Lord help me ;" and we will hope and 
pray that the bereaved mother's prayer will be abundantly an- 
swered. 



24 

Resolved, That we all bow in liumble submission to the All- 
Wise Ruler of the Universe, in acknowledgement of our nation- 
al and individual transgressions, and thank Him for the gift of 
all that was noble and good in the life of President Garfield, and 
for the sacrifice of that precious life for the people, and that the 
whole nation perish not, and will rejoice in the hope of a great 
national reform through the power of his death, from the broad 
way of all that was selfish and corrupt and mercenary in Ameri- 
can politics, that leads down to death, to the straight and nar- 
row way of political honesty and uprightness, that leads to a 
more prosperous national life. 

Bennlved, That Chester A. Arthur is entitled to our unquali- 
fied respect, and should receive our cordial support as the Con- 
stitutional President of the United States, and his earnest de- 
sire expressed in his inaugural address, to profit and to see that 
the nation shall profit by the example and experience of him we 
mourn to-day, gives us strong confidence in his ability and pa- 
triotism, and the gratifying assurance that the government will 
receive no detriment through lack of a sincere purpose to promote 
the public good. And we will hope and believe that the memorable 
words of General Garfield on the death of Abraham Lincoln 
may be true in their broadest significance, down to the last syl- 
lable of recorded time, — "God reigns and the Government at 
Washington still lives." 

William P. Moses, Esq., arose and seconded the resolutions, 
and spoke of Ex-President Garfield as a Soldier, as follows : — 

Mr. Moses. Mr. President : I desire to second the resolu- 
tions which have been presented to this meeting, and also to 
briefl}^ allude to the military career of him whose death we to- 
day lament, in the war of the Rebellion. For several years, 
and up to within a short time, before the commencement of 
hostilities. Gen. Garfield had been engaged in the occupation of 
teacher in a college. His antecedents, education and surround- 
ings were adverse to the qualifications generall}'' regarded as 
necessary iii the successful soldier. And perhaps there are no 
two positions in life more unlike each other than that of the 
teacher and the soldier. But his country was in peril, — its very 
existence was threatened; the path of duty for him seemed to 
lead to the battle-field, and he took that path. He marched to 
the front at the head of one of Ohio's regiments as its colonel, 



25 

awd his command had hardlj^ taken the position assigned it in 
the loyal lines ere he had made his mark. It was said of him 
early in his military career, by an experienced soldier. "Why, 
the man is a born major-general." His first service in the field 
was in command of a force sent to oppose Humphrey Marshnll, 
who was marching through eastern Kentucky at the head of an 
army, and by his operations was greatly endangering the posi- 
tion of Kentucky as a loyal state. The two armies sooji con- 
fronted each other, and in an active campaign of two short weeks 
Marshall's army was beaten, routed and driven within the con- 
federate lines. It was my fortune, about a year later, to be in 
that section of Kentucky near which this campaign was fought, 
and while there heard much of the popularity, talents and com- 
manding influence of Humphrey Marshal', and of the superior 
qualities of the men that he recruited, I regret to say, for the 
wrong side. And you may be very sure, sir, that the army that 
drove Marshall and his men out of their native state and away 
from their very hearthstones, was an army of heroes led by a 
hero. Indeed, General Garfield's entire service in the army 
was characterized by a high order of activity, sagacity and in- 
domitable courage, beyond all cavil or dispute. Oh ! sir, it is a 
glorious, an illustrious roll, that which contains the names of 
those, who, at their country's call, abandoned the congenial pur- 
suits of civil life, severed the ties of family and kindred, took 
upon themselves the restraint of military life, the tedium of 
■drill, the weariness of the march, the exposure of the shelterless 
bivouac, the privations of camp, and that — best test of patriotism 
— bravely took part in the strife, din and crash of contending 
armies, where that grim monster. Death, held high carnival. 
And on this roll, high up and in the front rank, the peer of the 
noblest, bravest and best, and always to be held in grateful re- 
membrance by — let us hope — the whole people of a saved, free, 
prosperous and happy nation, and their children, and their chil- 
dren's children, while grass shall grow and water run, and until 
time shall be no longer, stands the sainted name of James 
Abram Garfield. 

The question of the adoption of the resolutions as voicing the 
sentiments of the people was then put hy the President, and the 
resolutions were adopted without a dissenting vote. 



26 

The President. FeHow Citizens : Last Friday afternoon, 
in tlie nation's capitol, lay the nation's dead. The great dome 
spread its protecting arch nearly three hundred feet above. The 
national pictures of the heroes of other days looked down from 
the walls, and beautiful frescoes overtopped the scene. Pillar, 
post and arch, and all the architectural adornments the skill of 
man could devise, draped with emblems of mourning, surrounded 
the mortal remains uf our dead President. Flowers — God's orna- 
ments to the surface of the earth — were high piled upon the cask- 
et. Flowers there were from England's Queen ; and flowers from 
the humble washerwoman of the metropolis. Flowers from com- 
rades in the army ; flowers from the men of the square and com- 
pass ; flowers from the Christian brethren ; flowers from societies, 
friends, statesmen ; flowers everywhere. Among tliese flowers, 
by the side of that casket, stood Lucretia Rudolph Garfield, 
with none present save God. Under that imposing dome and 
amid all those awe inspiring scenes, she gave up to God and to 
history, the husband of her youth, the father of her children, 
the stay and pride of her life. 

Under very much less severe trials, we, fellow citizens, are 
called upon to give up our faithful President. Life is real, and 
whether President or peasant dies, the world must go on. Life 
ceaselessly moves — moves forward or backward, but always 
moves. There is rest only in death. We have ceased our la- 
bors for this day. The whirl of business is hushed, the spindle 
turns not, neither does the shuttle fly to and fro. Our hearts, 
filled with grief, beat in sympathy with the last sad rites in a 
distant city, and we linger over the happy memories of the past. 
But life's duties loudly call, and nothing remains but to utter 
the last farewell. 

Farewell ! wise and conscientious Statesman. • 

Farewell ! patriot, citizen, soldier ! 

Farewell ! faithful son, devoted husband, loving father ! 

Farewell ! O, earnest Christian ! 

Farewell ! thrice farewell! Our mi;rdered, martj-r President! 
We give thee to God and to History. 



27 

As a closing exercise the audience joined with the choir in 
tlie singing, "Nearer ray God, to Thee." The benediction was 
pronounced I13' Rev. George C. Noyes, and the large congrega. 
tion slowly dispersed. 

The Free Pres,s and Journal in summing up its report of the 
observance of the day says : "It is fitting, in conclusion, to say 
that never within our memory, has an occasion of this kind been 
so honestly and faithfully observed. Not only were our places 
of business closed, but they were locked and their owners were 
away paying their respects to the departed President. The ex- 
ercises were all of them of a simple, earnest character, and it 
was easy to see that people's hearts were in the work. The 
speaking at the grove was remarkably fine, and most of it in ex- 
cellent taste. The speeches were noble tributes to a noble man. 
A great deal of credit is due those of our townsmen who under- 
took the enterprise, and to all who assisted to make it the suc- 
cess it was." 




" Proudly on my country's altar 
Life's last sacrifice I lay. 

God .has called : I will not falter 
He has summoned^me aivayP 



